The Joy of Childhood

Well, my very special picture that I promised to post didn't turn out like I wanted it to.  So instead I offer you this picture of one of the great joys of childhood.  Catching snow on your tongue.  Did you eat snow when you were a kid?  I know I did and I thought it was great!  We had an awesome snow here a few days ago with these gigantic, fat flakes.  It only lasted about 45 minutes but it was absolutely gorgeous while it lasted.  And apparently it was tasty too!

Update Tuesday

Since certain people have demanded that I update my blog (ahem, Kim!), I decided I better get on the ball and update this thing!  I'll be taking a very special photograph later today that I'll be posting on here.  But until then, here's what's going on in my life.

I've been working hard on my house, remodeling way too many parts of it at once.  The kitchen cabinets are getting a face lift.  As soon as I finish those, granite countertops here I come!  You would think being a photographer that I'd be good at taking before and after pictures.  But no, I'm actually terrible about remembering to take a before picture.  But I will take an after picture.  I promise.  As long as I remember.

The basement is the other part of the house getting a little more than a facelift.  It's destined to be my photo studio so it has taken priority over all other things in life.  The demolition part is finally done, the plumbing is done, electrical is next week, then sheet rock the week after.  Once sheetrock is up, then I can finally start painting, decorating, and most importantly working down there!  I'm super eager to have a studio of my own and to be able to throw myself fully into my business.

And now for the good stuff.  A picture of Milo:)  Everyone always loves a picture of a Weimaraner, right?  I know I do.  He's not as melancholy as he looks.  He just hates having his picture taken.  Unfortunately for him, being a model is absolutely in his job description.

Good Friends

It's been a looooong time since I posted anything but I really wanted to share this picture with you.  Some of you have seen it already since I posted it on Facebook yesterday.

A very sweet friend of mine sent me this shirt for my birthday.  Not only did she send me this awesome shirt, but she also sent me some very cool Weimaraner napkins and the most delicious brownies to eat on the napkins.  Do I have great friends or what?  The coolest thing about this friendship, is that I met Molly (the friend) and her family all thanks to our common interest in Weimaraners.  I've always said that my dog friends are some of the best friends in the world and I think this proves it:)  Not only does Molly have a big heart when it comes to thinking of her friends.  But she also has a big heart for adoption.  As if adopting 3 Weimaraners wasn't enough, she and her husband are about to adopt their third human child.  Yes, you read that right.  Three fur kids and three human kids.  Wow!  Thank you, Molly, for thinking of me and giving me a gift that I know came from the heart.  I'll wear this shirt proudly!

If you want to know more about Molly and her family you can read her blog at:  http://teamparkerblog.wordpress.com/.  Read it and be inspired to do something good for someone else today.

Pure Yumminess!

One bowl of chocolate, peanut butter Chex Mix.....deeeelicious!  And so easy to make.

Do your family a favor and make some of this right away!  The recipe is on the back of the Chex cereal box.

A Good Day for a Nap

In true Weimaraner style, Milo has taken this little tiny door mat for himself.  Weims have a knack for finding the softest spot closest to their human, and curling up or contorting their body in any way necessary to fit on that spot.  This little door mat is Milo's new favorite spot.  He's got the right idea though.  It's cold and gloomy outside which makes it a perfect day for a nap.

The Family Picture

I really love taking family pictures.  Why?  Every family is so different.  With different dynamics, different personalities, and different looks, I love the challenge of capturing everyone's personality and the way they interact with each other in one photo.  It's actually easier for me to capture that in families that I don't know already.  I think it's because I can take an objective look at them and see almost instantly how they all relate to each other.  My favorite kind of family picture is the silly picture.  You can tell how much fun a family has together by how quickly they all pile on when I suggest doing something crazy and a little out of the ordinary for a picture.

I know the family in the picture above because they're my family.  They're my husband's family, or half of it, to be more specific.  I'm always honored to be asked to take a family picture.  And sometimes I'm not asked, I just volunteer to do it because I know that 1, 10, or 50 years from now we're all going to look back and be so happy we took the time to take the picture.

With the holiday season in full swing, I encourage you all to take the time to take the picture.  It doesn't matter how polished your photography skills are or are not, just take the pictures.  Trust me, you'll be happy you did.  One of my favorite things to do as an adult, is to look at all the slide pictures my dad took when I was a child.  A stroll down memory lane always puts me in a good mood....even if there are significantly more pictures of my brother than of me.  You know how it is, the oldest child always has the most pictures and the youngest child only has a few, fuzzy snapshots of them wearing hand-me-down boys clothing with their hair wild and unkept and their faces dirty from playing in the mud.  Who am I kidding, my dad didn't take fuzzy snapshots.  He took good snapshots....of my brother.  Anyway, I leave you with these words.  Take the time to take the pictures.  And then share them.

My First Buck!

I had a great time this past weekend during the opening of rifle deer season here in Nebraska.  I went hunting bright and early Saturday morning with my hubby.  There's something so nice about sitting on a grassy hill with my husband, with no one around but us and the cows.  We had hoped there would be deer around too but there weren't.  Nevertheless, we sat there for 2 hours, whispering, watching, and finally shivering.  Once I started shivering enough we went back to my in-laws house for a nice breakfast followed by more hunting.

My father-in-law had originally said we weren't going to hunt all day, only in the morning and evening.  But of course, as soon as enough men got together in the house, suddenly everything changed and the plans were now to hunt all day.  This time I went out with my sister-in-law though.  We drove to a spot she thought would be good and as soon as we pulled up, there was a buck and a doe staring at us through the tall grass.  I kind of felt like we were interrupting something and maybe we should leave.  But I got over that feeling quickly and after much fumbling with the bullets and my gun, I finally got out of the truck and promptly scared the deer away.  They didn't go far though so we tracked them down.

In my haste to get a shot, I didn't get into a very good shooting position.  I just squatted down, lifted my gun up, looked through my scope and saw that I had a great opportunity.  I quickly cranked up the zoom on my scope, trained the gun on the deer's vitals and squeezed my trigger.  As soon as I pulled the trigger, I felt the gun throw my shoulder back in the most violent way I'd ever experienced.  Followed immediately by the scope hitting me in the face right above my eye!  I had scoped myself!  I couldn't believe it.  I looked at my sister-in-law and said, "Am I bleeding?"  "No," she said.  "Ok good.  Did I hit him?"  "Ya, I'm pretty sure you did," she said.  At which point we both squeaked and squealed with excitement like girls do when they're out hunting and one of them gets a buck.

Now let's skip to the good part and get to the pictures.  Here's my goofy picture taken immediately after finding the buck.

And here's my picture after going home and putting makeup on so I could look good in my picture with the deer.  I AM still a girl after all and looking good in pictures is always a priority!

A special thanks to my hubby for always making sure I have the best gun and ammunition available.  He hand loads all my bullets so they're exactly what I need for the situation.  And he taught me how to shoot, so without him, I wouldn't be enjoying this wonderful sport.  Nor would I be getting up at 5 a.m. in the freezing cold to go out and sit on a hill waiting for an animal to happen along!  But really, it's fun and I'm super excited to have taken my first buck!